Collegiate Peaks Wilderness is located in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests. Wide U-shaped valleys open onto utterly breathtaking mountain scenery. Dozens of alpine lakes sparkle at the feet of striking rocky cirques. For startling, glacier-sculpted, high-mountain splendor, this area has few rivals in Colorado.

With 8 "fourteeners" (peaks exceeding 14,000 feet in elevation), Collegiate Peaks Wilderness probably possesses the highest average elevation of any Wilderness in the Lower 48. You can climb with relative ease Mounts Yale, Oxford, Columbia, and Harvard (the state's third highest point), as well as Huron Peak, Missouri Mountain, Mount Belford, and La Plata Peak (the state's fifth highest point). Another 6 peaks in the area rise to within 200 feet of 14,000, and a virtually unlimited number of other raw summits offer technical climbing challenges. Not far north of the Collegiate Peaks stands Mount Elbert, the highest point on the Continental Divide.

• To truly experience Collegiate Peaks Wilderness Wilderness go for a backcountry adventure. Stop by a ranger station in Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnsion National Forests to get trail guides.